Over the past few years there has been a significant decline of concert tickets sold in the Christian music industry. Some would say it’s the economy… gas prices… etc… and while I would typically agree with that reasoning, I would say it’s because some Christian music ticket buyers aren’t getting what they paid for.

Some artists who used to sell out big venues are having a harder and harder time filling those same seats. They are having to re-structure how they tour, who they tour with and who assumes the liability for those tours.

Touring budgets for sound, lights and road crew have been slashed to the bare minimum while on some level, ticket prices have stayed the same… or have gone up.

Add a little more fuel to the fire… (this is the key part of this post…) These same artists just show up and play their songs without giving much thought of giving the ticket buyer the experience they paid for.

There’s a bit of thinking that says… they (ticket buyers) came to hear my (artist) songs. While that is true, they also came to experience those songs… not just hear those songs.

In the mainstream concert world (mainstream artists usually have a bit more in their budgets) the audience generally walks away having experienced something that wow’d them. Something in that show that says… It was worth the price I paid.. $35, $50.. $150… Most times, these artists walk in with one thing on their mind… These people are paying me to give them the greatest night of music I can give them and walk away with the kind of experience that makes them an even bigger fan. The kind of fan that will tell their friends… You have to see this show!!! It’s worth every dollar!!!

My thought is, if an artist is going to charge a high ticket price – what I’m paying for is not the millions of CD’s they sold or the number of radio hits – actually, all of those things have ALREADY been paid for by you and me. What I’m paying for is an experience. An experience I’m not going to get anywhere else from that artist. An experience that makes me realize… the price of this show was worth it!!

The audience is smart. In Christian music there are a couple of tours that sell $10 tickets for a multiple artist show. The majority of artists on these tours play only 5 or 6 songs tops. And because there are multiple artists, the ticket buyer usually isn’t coming to see ALL of the artists in the show. They usually are there for 1 or 2 artists and might like the other artists enough to tolerate them.

The point being… it’s worth $10 to see their favorite artist, only play a few songs… and these two tours are very successful selling tickets if not selling out most venues they play in.

Counter that with a tour like Michael W. Smith and Amy Grant, The 2 Friends Tour, where the tickets (most nights) ranged from $50 – $75. Those are higher ticket prices than normal for them, BUT they sold out almost every show. Why? Because when else are you going to see these two play in this setting together? Plus… they created a show that gives the ticket buyer some sweet, precious moments that showcased why these two have been friends and worked together for over 20 years. Between the older hits they played together and the stories they told together, Michael and Amy gave their fans exactly what the audience wanted. At the end of the night… The ticket buyer walks away with a real experience that was worth the investment of the evening… They walk away WOW’d!

For those of you artists or marketing people trying to create something of value.

Remember this quote from Michael Hyatt in his post The How of Wow… You must exceed the customer’s current expectations.

When I buy a ticket to a concert, I’m expecting to see something greater than just the artist’s songs… I want to be Wow’d. With low budget production, great experiences can happen with a great story… the back story of a song OR musically… the way one song has been re-arranged to lead you into the heart of a moment that might be a bigger hit live than on the CD. With the Michael W. Smith / Amy Grant tour… the musicians playing for these two is worth the price to see. The stage oozed with talent that wow’d me.

So my question for you is this.

What value do you find in the experience? A movie? A concert? A book? A CD?

What are you really willing to pay for?

I paid $150 to see U2 on their last tour. It was my 5^th time to see them. I’m a fan, but the concert experience is worth the money. It’s worth going back 5 times.

For creatives..

What steps do you take in order to exceed someone’s expectations and give them the experience they paid for?

Thoughts?

This past weekend Michael W. Smith and Amy Grant started The 2 Friends Tour. They haven’t toured together like this in twenty years. The show is everything a fan would want to experience from these two and nothing short of some very sweet moments. In fact, there are so many elements to the night, that I could probably write a week’s worth of posts just on the show itself.

Photo by Nathan Fawley

Anyway…

This past Saturday night in Phoenix I was talking to Amy. Just before the show was about to start, Michael walks up joins our conversation. Amy looked up at him and said this…

“Michael, Thank you…” Michael looked puzzled and asked “Why? What are you talking about?” Amy says… “This… this tour. I’m having so much fun and I love having you play on stage with me during my set. I just love the whole evening and love that we get to do this again… together. So… thank you.”

Michael responded back with a huge smile and talked about how much fun he was having too and thanked her for doing this tour with him. They both had the kind of smile on their faces that only friends who have walked together in life seem to have. Does that make sense?

It was a moment I will never forget. Two friends saying thanks in the most guiuine way possible. After all of these years. Writing songs together, watching each other raise their families and living life as true friends. Or as Amy says on stage… “it’s like playing a show with my brother.”

Michael and Amy really are a great duo to see live. Especially in this setting. Their friendship is one the plays out on stage in a huge way, but when I get to be around them, I’m constantly reminded how important longevity in friendship really is. It’s almost as if longevity in friendship transforms into.. “we’re family and we will always be there for each other. No matter what.”

This past weekend, I was reminded how much I need to continue to invest into the lives of those I’m closest to. Most of all… I need to always remember the value of saying thanks to my friends… is priceless.

Just like Randy Elrod wrote in his post on Why A Compliment Is Virtually Meaningless To Me-But Thanks Goes A Long Way… Thankfulness is a game changer and essential to a long lasting friendship.

Do you have relationships you would like to take to a deeper level? One that takes friendship to a new level of understanding?

How do you think longevity in friendship happens?

If you have followed rock n roll folklore, you might have heard that Van Halen would request that all brown M & M’s be removed from the M & M’s requested on their Tour Rider. (A rider is a set of requests that a performer will set as criteria for performance)

As sited in Wikipedia, The objective of this wasn’t due to any excesses on the part of the band, but was a method to determine how much attention to detail the crew at a local venue paid to the requests specified in the rider. Should the bowl be absent, or if brown M&Ms were present, it would give band members reason to suspect other, legitimate, technical and safety issues were also being performed poorly or were outright overlooked. David Lee Roth stated in his autobiography that this request was done as a result of faulty workmanship at a venue on an earlier tour which nearly cost the life of a member of Van Halen’s road crew, as well as $85,000 damage to the venue and their own equipment.^[1]

Any time I hear this story while I’m on the road with artists, I often think.

I wonder what small details I’m missing in my personal and professional life which cause me to slack on the big stuff in life?

Do you ever wonder that for yourself?

The passing of Dana Key came as a surprise to all who knew him and to those who were fans of his music with DeGarmo & Key as well as his solo work and his work as a pastor.

I first met Dana in the early 90’s as Big Tent Revival was just starting to form. He and Eddie DeGarmo were at Ardent Studios recording their last studio record while Steve Wiggins and I were trying to pay the bills by working at the studio making coffee, taking out the trash and running errands for whoever needed something. It was an amazing time to be hanging out there. While Dana and Eddie would be in one studio, ZZ Top would be in another just down the hallway… and that was a normal day of random artists in the building.

As we became friends with Dana and Eddie, I had no idea who they were. I didn’t grow up listening to Christian music so I wasn’t a fan and never listened to any of their CD’s. However… I was a fan of them as people and that was all I needed.

As you could imagine, the first time I heard God Good, Devil Bad… I laughed in front of both of them never knowing it was a hit… oh I was young and stupid.

Fast forward a little bit to the forming of Ardent Records which Dana became a working part of not as an artist at first, but A&R guy, part owner, producer and the guy you call when you need a quick guitar part or overdub.

Dana Key, along with Pat Scholes and John Fry, were very instrumental in giving Big Tent Revival our start. They were the label and we were the first Christian band to be signed to their label.

There were many firsts… Our first tour was opening up for DeGarmo and Key on their farewell tour.( I played drums for D & K on this tour as well) They also gave us our first tour bus experience and showed us the ropes of traveling on the road. They also showed us how to gain weight by stopping at Waffle House every night at 2am… those were some fun nights!

Dana and Eddie would sit and tell us the funniest stories about touring and making records. Then turn around and tell us the scariest stories about touring and making records… and raising a family and the difficulties that come with it.

Dana and Eddie… those guys are survivors of the road… and to this day have never strayed from their goal… telling people about Christ.

Here are a few things I loved about Dana.

First, Dana was extremely funny and would tell you EXACTLY what’s on his mind with no filter.

Second, he scared the living daylights out of me one day when I was rehearsing with he and Eddie for their last tour. I was playing drums for them and we were practicing this one song where the ending of the song was way different live than what was on the CD. The first 3 times we went through the song I botched the ending every time. Then… out of no where, Dana whips around pointing his finger at me and says… very sternly.. “LOOK!!! Get it right!” that’s all he said… in my head he had said… get it right or your fired.

Well, we took a little break. I walked up to Steve Wiggins and I was shaking like I had just disappointed my coach or Dad in the worst way possible. Steve calmed me down and I went and learned the ending of the song.

I never messed it up again… or any other song on that tour.

The funny part… EVERY night on tour when we got to the ending of that song, Dana would turn around and wink at me for getting it right. Yep… he knew… and I knew… but we never ever spoke about it since he corrected me. That was an important moment for me and he knew it and I loved him for it.

Third, the day I got married he and his wife, Anita, drove from Memphis to Nashville to come to the wedding. I saw the two of them at the end of the reception. What I didn’t know was their car had broken down between Memphis and Nashville and they didn’t get to see the wedding… they had literally just walked in from about 7 hours of car trouble which should have only been about a 3 hour drive.

It meant so much to me that they would go to all of that trouble just to be there when they could have and probably should have turned around and gone home.

You see… that’s Dana. When you least expect it he was there for you in support. Always willing. Always there.

So Dana… You know… I’ve been sitting here crying my eyes out half the day going through all the memories. I regret so much that I didn’t come to see you sooner and I let my busy schedule get the best of me. I’ve been wanting to get back to Memphis to just catch up for a bit and tell you how much you’ve always meant to me and what a huge impact you made on my life as your friend. Thank you for taking the chance on me… and Wiggins… and Randy… and Dave and Dale… and thanks for believing in us.

Thanks for making me laugh and thanks for giving me teachable moments that I will never forget. Moments I use today to mentor other young artists now just like you did with us.

My friends… here’s the lesson in this.

We all know we don’t know when our time will come to leave this earth. So… make sure that if you need to spend time with someone you haven’t seen in while, seek them out now. Pursue them with diligence and get time with them. If they made an impact on you, make sure you tell them and thank them… buy them a meal or coffee or something. The smallest gesture goes the longest way.

Please continue to pray for his with Anita and the rest of his family and remember to pursue life with great diligence.

This past week has been a whirlwind of travel. It actually started on Wednesday with a flight to Toronto to meet up with Michael W. Smith and his band of merry men for the start of his Canadian tour. I’ve never spent any time in Toronto or Montreal, which was day two of the tour, but I loved both cities and the French side of Montreal was awesome. The food was great and the city… WOW! clean and super efficient.

But I experienced something I know I will have a hard time truly painting the right picture with my not so grandiose use of the English language. But I will try…

During the first night of the tour I was standing near the front next to a row of people who were all confined to wheel chairs. These sweet people couldn’t talk and if they could, it was merely noises of communication. They hardly had any control over their bodies and I suspect they have been this way their whole life. They were also at the show with their families.

You know how when you observe people confined to wheel chairs – how even though they have a hard time communicating or moving around that you know they know exactly what is going on? And when it comes to their belief in God – you can sense their love for God is more pure than you could ever imagine? Well… this was exactly who I was watching.

There comes a point when Michael W. Smith goes into this worship moment and sings “I’ll stand… with arms high and heart abandoned…” and there I am… watching this whole audience transcend into this place of worship that I could only explain as holy. I don’t comment much on the corporate worship moments I see, but this one was an experience for the books. (or blog)

And then I saw it… a sister of one of the boys in a wheel chair leans in and grabs her brother (who would be about 5’8” if he could stand on his own) and lifts him up from under his arms. His legs were bent and provided absolutely no support for him to stand up so she held him up, her arms wrapped around him tight so that they both faced forward. She did this so that she and he could stand together… with arms high and heart abandoned.

He LOVED it… she gave him that moment to stand with everyone… and with every ounce of energy he had in him he worshiped…. with arms high and heart abandoned.

So that nothing could get in his way of expressing himself… with arms high and heart abandoned.

Just like everyone else in the room… with arms high and heart abandoned.

Even now as I write this I’m tearing up at the vision of pure love that was wrapped around that whole moment.

And for that moment… for me… all was right and perfect in the world.

It’s a sweet, sweet reminder that I desire a child like faith. Pure, Simple and Loving… with arms high and heart abandoned.

As you go through out your day, what are those unexpected moments you experience that remind you how sweet life is?

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Anytime I go for a run, I take my iPod shuffle so I can listen to my favorite up beat tunes for that extra motivation I seem to need. Up beat songs seem to keep my legs moving a little faster.

I read this article in Runner’s World recently. It made me think about some of my friends who are running the Country Music Half Marathon with Powered By Hope. I love articles like this because they give me a little more motivation to get out there and run.

The article is called Musical Motivation For Runners – Gonna Fly Now. It’s very interesting how music has such power over our ability to perform. It also leads me to think about how powerful of a role music plays in our lives everyday no matter where in the world we live. Every culture on earth has music at its core. Pretty amazing when you stop to think about it.

Music takes me different places when I run. It keeps me motivated, focused, and energized. It helps me to think clearly through thoughts I’m trying to figure out and it helps me to problem solve. Music also helps me to be creative and it throws me into a mind set of brainstorming that sets me on a path I would never really take otherwise.

The other side of this is I’ve been running with Randy Elrod for almost two years now. When we run together we never listen to music. The whole run consists of us catching up, tackling some new ideas and problem solving others. It’s very productive for our friendship and by the end of it we are excited we finished and that we accomplished more than a just run.

What helps you stay motivated while you run? Music? Conversation? Listening to the cars fly by you?

The more I travel and watch concerts the more I believe what I have always felt about music and the live experience.

A great live show is made up of great music and great moments.

I have said for years that one of the most important things that happens in a show is not just during the songs but also what happens between the songs. The interaction with the audience, the stories about the songs and those little comments about everyday life. All of those happen between the songs and bring the audience just a little closer to the heart of the artist.

Now… if the artist has the budget to spend on cool things that happen during the songs like cool video, awesome set changes or the occasional blast of fire (HeHe) on stage then that takes the moment to a whole other level.

But let’s assume there are just a stage, some lights, and a good sound system. If an artist can wow a crowd with just that and get the audience to engage, then the night is going to be great.

Bruce Springsteen plays a 3 and half to 4 hour shows with no fancy production. No one leaves early and everyone is on his or her feet the whole time. Why? Great songs filled with great moments of energy through out the whole night. He never gives you a chance to be bored and he completely engages the audience from the very first note of the night.

There are countless other artist who could fall in this category.

BUT… there are several who don’t.

If you are a touring artist, I want you to think about this.

Just showing up to play your hit songs does not a good show make. No matter how great your songs are – it’s not enough. I didn’t pay good money to see you clock in and play the hits. I paid good money to come experience something special at your show. And that something special is called A Moment.

Moments are always tied to some sort of connection made with the audience and if you as an artist aren’t spending time figuring out what those moments are then you aren’t doing us any favors by just playing your cool songs.

I’m not mad when I say this. Just writing what I see and experience more times than I want to admit.

I see artists freak out when they think their set is to long because people are getting up to leave.

Dear Artist… did you ever think your set is just boring? I know audience members have babysitters keeping their kids but I feel like most would stay if they felt the show was worth the extra 15 minutes away from home.

When I think of great live shows, I think Cirque du Soleil or Disney. I think U2, Coldplay, Metallica, Muse… and yes… even Bette Midler. (I took a my college girl friend to see Bette Midler… I was really impressed and she was happy). These people are great entertainers because they are… wait for it… ENTERTAINING!

So… if you’re an artist reading this, take this one piece of advice from little ole me who is a fan of live shows and who used to play 200 shows a year on the road.

Whether your set is 10 minutes, 20 minutes or 90 minutes. Do us a favor… look at every minute and every song and ask yourself… How can I make this song a great moment beyond the song’s original form? If it’s a hit song on the radio, that doesn’t mean it’s going to be a hit song live. But if you have to play it because it’s a hit on radio, then go over the top and make it an even bigger hit live. If you have songs that never make it to radio that could be great songs live, then go for it and make the song the kind of moment that makes people wish all of their friends could have just experienced those great moments in the night.

I love the very essence of music and moments that bring up an array of emotion. The live show brings it all into reality allowing the audience member go to another level in their experience as a fan.

So thank you to all of you artists who have completely captivated me and made me love music even more because you took the time to make the experience mean that much more.

I am forever grateful and inspired.

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That’s RIGHT!!!! Another North American leg to the U2 360 Tour has been announced for 2010. Click U2.com for more info on when tickets go on sale. Some subscriber tickets go on sale as early as tomorrow, October 27, 2009. Here’s the email I got in my inbox this morning.

Dear Spence,

Hope you caught U2 360° live from Rosebowl on YouTube. And now we can reveal U2 360° is coming back to North America in 2010.

360° plans to touch down next summer with stops in Anaheim; Denver; Oakland; Seattle; Edmonton; East Lansing; Miami; Philadelphia and Montreal. U2 360° will also return for one night only in Toronto and Chicago before finishing the North American leg in New York at the New Meadowlands Stadium.

The complete list of North American cities, venues and dates has just been published on U2.com and first tickets go on sale next week. (Tickets are also about to go on sale for 2010 European dates in Athens, Greece and Istanbul, Turkey. See below)

As always SUBSCRIBERS TO U2.COM are able to buy tickets ahead of the general public in special presales – the first of these open this week. As well as the chance to buy up to four tickets in the presale, U2.com subscribers will be sent a limited edition U2 remix album and gain unique online benefits with access to the dedicated U2.com subscription site.

More information on the U2.com Subscription offer.

6-June Anaheim, CA
On sale soon

12-June Denver, CO
On sale Nov. 6

16-June Oakland, CA
Presale opens Oct. 27th
On sale Nov. 2

20-June Seattle, WA
On sale soon

23-June Edmonton, AB
Presale opens Oct. 27th
On sale Nov. 2

30-June East Lansing, MI
On sale soon

03-July Toronto, ON
Presale opens Oct 27th
On sale Nov. 2

06-July Chicago, IL
On sale soon

09-July Miami, FL
On sale soon

12-July Philadelphia, PA
On sale soon

16-July Montreal, QC
On sale soon

19-July New York
On sale soon

Presales open to subscribers this Thursday for U2′s show in Athens, Greece on September 3rd and in Istanbul, Turkey on September 6th.

best wishes and see you on the road in 2010
The U2.com Team

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DID YOU READ THAT TITLE?

U2 Will Stream Their 360° Tour On YouTube FOR FREE Oct 25, 2009. This is their show in Pasadena, CA this coming Sunday night.

Yes… I’m a U2 fan and yes I think you should see them live.

But that’s not the point.

With great success, Mercy Me has been doing this at their shows for some time now. For all you music industry people who don’t understand this move, I will go on a limb and say you need to jump on the train because it’s leaving you behind whether you agree with it or not.

This is a great way to bring in fans who couldn’t afford a ticket or the show wasn’t close enough for them to attend. It feels like a bold move but the reality is that it costs very little to do this if you already have camera’s on the tour. It would seem by doing this you are losing potential income. Where you win people over is by giving them this experience free over the internet in hopes of capturing their attention enough that they would buy a ticet to another show close by or go online and buy product from the artist.

I love this kind of thinking as it says… WE WANT YOU,OUR FAN, TO JOIN US AT NO COST TO YOU.

As Randy Elrod and I teach in LifeWork 2.0, this is another great step in engaging your fans online. Every time an artist has offered something to me for free online, I’ve turned around and purchased something from them because they engaged me and gave me options of other ways to invest into what they are doing.

Question – If you could watch your favorite artist, speaker or conference online for free, do you think it would make you want to attend the live setting the next time around if you had the chance?

Here’s the info from U2.com below..

LIVE ON YOUTUBE. THIS SUNDAY

California, US U2 have confirmed via video blog that their sold-out concert at the Pasadena Rose Bowl in California, this Sunday, 25th October, will be streamed free, in full and live on YouTube. It’s the first time a show of this size will be streamed live.

The Rose Bowl show is the penultimate U2 show this year – with more to come in 2010 – and already is set to host the venue’s biggest ever audience of over 96,000 fans. The 360° Tour, which has been critically acclaimed and ‘re-invents rock’n'roll’ (Rolling Stone Magazine), will now boast unique access for fans worldwide – as fans in territories yet to be visited by the tour, or not at all, will be able to enjoy the whole show online.

Managed in partnership with Live Nation, this sell-out tour has broken attendance records in most venues it has visited – its success due in part to increased capacity coupled with a lower ticket price and great sight lines afforded by the stunning in-the-round stage set.

U2 manager Paul McGuinness said, ‘The band has wanted to do something like this for a long time. As we’re filming the LA show, it’s the perfect opportunity to extend the party beyond the stadium. Fans often travel long distances to come to see U2 – this time U2 can go to them, globally.’

YouTube will be streaming live across five continents. The show will be available in the usual You Tube way, as video-on-demand, following two full replays – after the live stream – on both U2.com and You Tube.

‘YouTube is thrilled to be able to provide our global audience with a live streaming performance from one of the world’s greatest bands,’ said Michele Flannery, Music Manager, YouTube. ‘We are always looking for new ways to connect fans around the world with their favourite artists, and this is the perfect opportunity to do just that.’

For more information stay tuned or visit You Tube .

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I’m really proud of Bryan White. He’s a great friend and I really believe in his music and more so, the man he is. He’s a great example as a father, husband and brother.

The info below came out yesterday and let me tell you… this is a great CD. I’ve watched the process of this CD get to where it is today and I couldn’t be more excited to see you get a chance to hear it for yourself.

So here’s the info on it and please. Go buy a copy and support music as one of our greatest forms of art…

Nashville, TN– Grammy-winner Bryan White’s much-anticipated new studio album, Dustbowl Dreams, has been released digitally. The lead single, “The Little Things,” has been released to country radio and can be found as a free download in the “Listen Up!” section of Country Weekly…..

The underlying theme of White’s eighth studio sums up to never forgetting your roots, which for White, is his Oklahoma pride. White explains, ““The song ‘Dustbowl Dreams’ was inspired by my pride as an Oklahoman, my fascination with my lineage and history, and through my own struggles, identifying with the grit, soul, and spirit of Oklahomans, especially during the Great American Dustbowl. I love to think of myself as a product of their perseverance. Dustbowl Dreams is, in essence, the American dream.” ….

An award-winning, platinum-selling vocalist, White has scored six number one hits, exploding into the country music scene charting seventeen singles on Billboard’s Country Charts. Taking some time off to get away from the craziness of being on the road, White found his identity, not only as an artist and a songwriter, but also as a human being. When asked what he hopes to accomplish with this new album, he smiles confidently and says, “I am looking forward to this next chapter of my career as I have plenty more to say with my music.” Inspired by his ancestors, his heritage, and pride, he is determined to once again make an impact with his music and use his platform for the greater good. Never forgetting his stellar past, he looks ahead with confidence, determination, and much anticipation to a future filled with more dreams; Dustbowl Dreams. ….

Dustbowl Dreams, co-produced by Bryan White and Derek George, can be found on all online outlets, including iTunes. To download the new single, “The Little Things” pick-up the October 5 issue of Country Weekly. ….